Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.39 on January 15th

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 7th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of 0.39 per share by the medical research company on Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has increased its dividend payment by an average of 16.7% annually over the last three years. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a dividend payout ratio of 6.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Thermo Fisher Scientific to earn $23.40 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 6.7%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 0.3 %

TMO stock opened at $535.85 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $556.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $575.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $204.96 billion, a PE ratio of 33.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.77. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a twelve month low of $491.33 and a twelve month high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.69 earnings per share. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $168,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,333,946.08. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total value of $1,120,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,134,197.76. This trade represents a 13.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,150 shares of company stock worth $25,954,465. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on TMO shares. UBS Group raised shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $670.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $649.33.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company Profile

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc provides life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services in the North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company's Life Sciences Solutions segment offers reagents, instruments, and consumables for biological and medical research, discovery, and production of drugs and vaccines, as well as diagnosis of infections and diseases; and solutions include biosciences, genetic sciences, and bio production to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agricultural, clinical, healthcare, academic, and government markets.